Contextualizing the shanson phenomenon -- Criminals' music from its origins to the early Soviet period: a glorified archetype -- Soviet underworld music: from the Bolshevik revolution through the end of the Stalin era -- From post-Stalinist censorship to the contemporary mainstream: the birth of the shanson -- The shanson: main features and tropes -- The shanson in Russia: from the slums to the Kremlin -- Turning Russia's immediate reality into song -- Epilogue: Soundtrack to Russian life